The Giant's Eye: the Optical Munitions Exhibition http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/ Published by ASAP on ASAPWeb, 30 April 1997 E-Mail: bsparcs@asap.unimelb.edu.au Prepared by Denise Sutherland and Elissa Tenkate _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ People T.C. Alldis C.W. Allen G.H. Briggs H.A. Buchdahl N. Chamberlain F.D. Cruickshank J. Dooley S.J. Elwin N.A. Esserman H.J. Frost S.C.B. Gascoigne K. Gottlieb Kerr Grant L.J. Hartnett E.J. Hartung E.O. Hercus A.J. Higgs A.R. Hogg Internees T.H. Laby P.G. Law F. Lord A.L. McAulay J.J. McNeill R.G. Menzies Physics Students J.S. Rogers A.D. Ross E.L. Sayce G.G. Schaefer W.H. Steel D.W.N. Stibbs O.U. Vonwiller Women Workers R. v.d.R. Woolley _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Technicians: T.C. Alldis http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/alldis.htm c. 1905 - In 1925, Charlie Alldis started his career as a spectacle maker in Melbourne. In those days spectacles were oval, and were created by being ground with carborundum powder (there were no diamond-tipped tools or diamond dust). Lens rouge was used to finish a lens; this was a particularly messy process and the lens rouge seemed to get all over everything. Alldis undertook a six-month course conducted in the evenings at Melbourne Technical College (now RMIT) to upgrade his skills and learn how to be an optical technician in a scientific laboratory. This course, and others like it, were advertised in newspapers around the country to attract more workers to the important war work of optical munitions. When Alldis joined the Munitions Supply Laboratories (MSL) in March 1942, he found a spotless optical laboratory/workshop without even a speck of dust! He became one of J.J. McNeill's own optical technicians, and in 1955 Alldis even followed McNeill to the CSIR/O , where he was in charge of McNeill's optical finishing shop. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: C.W. Allen http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/allen.htm 1904 - 1987 Clabon (Cla) Walter Allen was one of the four original staff physicists at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO) when it was first established in 1924 under the directorship of W.G. Duffield. (W.B. Rimmer, A.R. Hogg and A.J. Higgs were the other three physicists.) Allen developed the photometric atlas of the solar spectrum, a very important and influential work. During wartime, the CSO still undertook a number of astronomical projects, and Allen preferred to be involved with this work. He and A.J. Higgs were sent to South Africa in June 1940 to observe a total solar eclipse. Allen and Higgs were restless while waiting for the eclipse to happen; the Second World War was getting into full swing and they hoped that there would be war work for them when they returned to Australia. Allen wrote to Woolley: 'I have been having visions of joining up, or perhaps being sent somewhere else.' (1) When Allen returned from South Africa in November 1940, he discovered that the CSO had changed a great deal; and fitting in to the new war-time structure was difficult. 'The only variety at work is made by the mistakes I make and their subsequent difficulty.' (2) As can be seen by the above quote from Cla Allen's diary, he found the wartime optical munitions work dull. Allen was a physicist first and foremost, and although he was keen to help Australia during the war, the change from scientific research to the design of optical munitions and operation of optical workshops did not agree with him. After spending time on quality control, testing and assembling optical instruments, in 1942 Allen's focus changed to the forecasting of radio disturbances or fadeouts. This work was more in line with his original scientific research prior to the war, and Allen was able to successfully issue forecasts which warned when solar activity would affect radio communications. His work was greatly appreciated by the Australian armed services. Allen, his wife Rose, and their sons lived on Mount Stromlo in one of the CSO houses. He was a serious man, enjoying gardening - especially his roses and fruit trees - and quiet evenings at home. He once won the Stromlo wood-chopping competition and was an avid bush-walker. Allen even published a booklet on bushwalks in the Canberra region. References (1) C.W. Allen to R. v.d.R. Woolley, 29 August 1940, Australian Archives, A 9103, Item 4. (2) Diary entry, 30 January 1941, vol. 17, C.W. Allen papers, National Library of Australia, MS 7360. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: G.H. Briggs http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/briggs.htm 1893 - 1987 George Henry Briggs was the Officer-in-Charge of Physics at the National Standards Laboratory. He was in England when the Optical Munitions Panel was first established, but returned to Australia in December 1940. During his time abroad, he investigated aspects of optical instrument production in the UK and the USA. When Briggs returned to Australia in December 1940, he joined the Optical Munitions Panel and remained a member until it was disbanded at the end of the war. Briggs initally believed that the way things were being organised in Australia was not the best that they could be and raised this issue at the Panel meeting of February 1941: 'Dr Briggs pointed out that the centralised government-owned company in Canada was preferable to the present methods of using private companies in Australia. The Chairman replied that the present conditions in Australia must be allowed to continue until difficulties occurred which made intervention necessary.' - H.C. Bolton (1) References (1) H.C. Bolton (1990), 'Optical Instruments in Australia in the 1939-45 War: successes and lost opportunities', Australian Physicist, vol. 27, no. 3, March, p. 38. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: H.A. Buchdahl http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/buchdahl.htm 1919 - Hans Adolph Buchdahl came to Australia as a refugee from Europe in the 1940's. He taught at the University of Tasmania's Physics Department, and during the Second World War he worked in optical munitions at the Waterworth Hobart Annexe. After the war, Buchdahl was one of the few physicists to continue optical research; he specialised in the field of theoretical optics, focusing particularly on optical aberrations. Buchdahl later became Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Australian National University in Canberra. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: N.G. Chamberlain http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/chamberlain.htm 1916 - Noel Gordon Chamberlain was a physicist and Research Fellow when he arrived to undertake meteorological work at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO). He had previously worked at the Watheroo Magnetic Observatory in Western Australia. However, wartime optical munitions work interrupted his research plans! Chamberlain's skills were popular: the Munitions Supply Laboratories wanted him to work with them, but R. v.d.R. Woolley managed to convince him to remain at the CSO. Chamberlain assisted Woolley in the design of optics and held various supervisory roles in design, assembly and inspection of optical instruments. Chamberlain lived in the Bachelors' Quarters at the CSO on Mount Stromlo, along with S.G. 'Ben' Gascoigne, J. Dooley, F. Lord and K. Gottlieb. The Bachelors' Quarters saw many loud parties, but also served as the informal production headquarters. Chamberlain was one of the few CSO residents who had a car, and he was often driver for the CSO-organised bushwalks and skiing trips. The optical munitions work had shown Chamberlain that he really preferred to work with his hands on practical projects. As this type of work is hard to achieve in the field of astronomy, he left the CSO at the end of the war. He went to work at the Commonwealth Mineral Resources Survey (which later became the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics) and later became the Bureau's Head Geophysicist. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: F.D. Cruickshank http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/cruickshank.htm 1908 - 'I was tossed the problem of making up a [camera] lens. I went to a textbook and got the simplest looking thing, which was a Cooke triplet, that I could get, and there was a rough specification of it. I worked on that until I improved it as much as I could, and then got the lens made and mounted in the lab. And we took photos with it and it performed reasonably well. So that was a first rough go.' - F.D. Cruickshank (1) Fletcher Donaldson Cruickshank was Senior Lecturer in Physics at the University of Tasmania. He was part of the small but dedicated team which also designed and produced optics (which also included A.L. McAulay and the Waterworth brothers). Cruickshank was adept in designing of lenses; perhaps one of his most important designs was a camera lens for the RAAF. After the war, Cruickshank was one of the few Australian physicists to continue optical research. He continued his association with Waterworth for many years after the war, acting as a scientific adviser to the firm. References (1) Jill Cassidy (1990), Eric Waterworth: an inventive Tasmanian, Exhibition Catalogue, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, p. 13. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: J. Dooley http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/dooley.htm 1919 - Soon after optical munitions work began at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO), R. v.d.R. Woolley realised that he needed more physicists. He asked T.H. Laby for help with the rapidly increasing work load; and Laby responded by sending him two of his research students. James Dooley was one. Dooley was fortunate to live in the Bachelors' Quarters at the CSO on Mount Stromlo, along with S.G. 'Ben' Gascoigne, N.A. Chamberlain, F. Lord and K. Gottlieb. Of all the CSO staff, Dooley was the only one to join a military unit. He was a young man and felt a great need to serve his country in the front-line, not as a physicist. Woolley sympathised with Dooley's eagerness and helped him to slip away and join an anti-aircraft unit in New Guinea. However, it was noticed that Dooley was a physics graduate and he was sent back to Australia (physics graduates were a reserved occupation and were not allowed to enlist as their services were needed at home). Dooley then spent time working on newly-developed radar equipment, and later returned to the CSO, where he continued with optical munitions work. After the war, Dooley left the CSO and joined the Commonwealth Mineral Resources Survey (later the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics), as N.G. Chamberlain had also done. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Technicians: S.J. Elwin http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/elwin.htm c.1905 - 1993 Prior to the Second World War, Syd Elwin was a lecturer in manual training at the Sydney Teachers' College and a keen amateur astronomer. R. v.d.R. Woolley brought him to the Commonwealth Solar Observatory to assist in the optical munitions work being undertaken there. Elwin was one of the few men in Australia with experience in optical glass. He had taught himself skills in optical glass working, and these skills became very useful in the optical workshop at the CSO. Elwin and F. Lord worked together to establish a sophisticated workshop. They undertook experiments on the production of optical surfaces, making a wide range of lenses and prisms. Many Australian firms were involved in the manufacture of optical munitions, and someone was needed to train their staff. Elwin's teaching experience was invaluable, and technicians from contracted industrial firms were constantly coming through Lord and Elwin's workshops to learn their advanced techniques. He also conducted courses in techniques of glass working and the theory of applied optics. Elwin was older than most others who were at the CSO during the war. He was also used to working alone and found it quite difficult to join forces with the other workers and various rivalries existed. Eventually Elwin made friends at the Observatory, and even played one of the four piano parts in Beethoven's Pastoral for eight hands (the other pianists were J. Dooley, Woolley and Woolley's wife, Gwyneth). _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: N.A. Esserman http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/esserman.htm 1896 - 1982 In 1916 Norman Abraham Esserman finished his degree in Mathematics at the University of Sydney. Between 1917 and 1920, he travelled to London to study optics at the Munitions Office's Arsenal Branch. On his return to Australia in 1920, Esserman became the first physicist to join the Department of Defence. He worked in the Munitions Supply Laboratories, and eventually worked his way up the ladder to become Assistant Superintendent. In 1938, Esserman became the Officer-in-Charge of the Metrology (Measurement) Section of the National Standards Laboratory (NSL). He brought a great deal of expertise in optics to the NSL and was a valuable member of the Optical Munitions Panel throughout the war years. Esserman later became Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee on Optical Munitions (TACOM), which was established in February 1952: 'to advise the Department of Defence Production on matters relating to Optical Munitions and to re-establish the precision optical industry which developed during the 1939-45 war but was disbanded at the cessation of hostilities.' (1) After the war, Esserman continued his career with the NSL and became Director in 1958. References (1) H.C. Bolton (1983), 'J.J. McNeill and the Development of Optical Research in Australia', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 5, no. 4, p. 65. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: H.J. Frost http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/frost.htm 1910 - 1980 Herbert John Frost was a senior physicist and Head of the Physics Section at the Munitions Supply Laboratories (MSL ). He had an important role, overseeing the extensive activities of the Physics Section and ensuring the availability of testing equipment. Frost attended the very first meeting of Australian physicists on 26 June 1940, which was organised by L.J. Hartnett, Director of Ordnance Production. Frost was involved with the Optical Munitions Panel from that point until the Panel was disbanded in November 1945. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: S.G. 'Ben' Gascoigne http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/gascoigne.htm 1915 - Sydney Charles 'Ben' Gascoigne was born in New Zealand, did his undergraduate study at the University of Auckland, and gained his PhD from the University of Bristol, in the UK. R. v.d.R. Woolley, the Director of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO), then offered Gascoigne a Research Fellowship, saying that his 'experience in optical work [was] unique' and that Gascoigne was 'trained in a way that no one else in Australia has been qualified'. (1) And so, in August 1941, Gascoigne arrived in Australia to contribute to the optical munitions work being undertaken at the CSO. During the war, Gascoigne was an integral part of the team of CSO physicists that undertook optical munitions work. His tasks included the supervision of design, assembly and inspection of optical instruments. In particular, he worked on the design of a sighting telescope for an anti-aircraft gun. Later, Gascoigne worked as C.W. Allen's assistant, helping Allen to develop a testing and measuring laboratory. Gascoigne lived in the Bachelors' Quarters at the CSO on Mount Stromlo, along with N.A. Chamberlain, J. Dooley, F. Lord and K. Gottlieb. The Bachelors' Quarters saw many noisy parties, but also served as the informal production headquarters. In 1943 Gascoigne married and moved into a house on Mount Stromlo with his wife, Rosalie (Rosalie Gascoigne is a renowned Australian sculptor). After the war, Gascoigne continued his astronomical research, focusing on stellar evolution, the distance scale, and faint star photometry. He was also involved with the establishment of the Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring, New South Wales. In June 1996, he was awarded the Order of Australia for services to Australian astronomy. References (1) R. v.d.R. Woolley to Secretary, Department of Interior, 25 August 1941, Australian Archives, A 431/1, 52/201. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Technicians: K. Gottlieb http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/gottlieb.htm ? - 1996 Kurt Gottlieb was a Czech refugee and engineer with industrial experience; he arrived in Australia on the same ship as F. Lord. The optical munitions work at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO) required a mechanical designer and draftsman. The Director, R. v.d.R. Woolley desperately scoured Australian technical colleges looking for the person with the qualifications required. Thus, Gottlieb and his talents were discovered; he joined the staff at the CSO and made a significant contribution to the success of the optical munitions work. Gottlieb lived in the Bachelors' Quarters at the CSO on Mount Stromlo, along with N.A. Chamberlain, J. Dooley, F. Lord and S.C. 'Ben' Gascoigne. After the war, Gottlieb stayed on at the CSO, continuing to work with Woolley on monochromatic magnitudes. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: K. Grant http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/grant.htm 1878 - 1967 'Kerr Grant met the ship as I arrived in Australia, joined my Board of Visitors and throughout my sixteen years in Australia impressed me profoundly with his love of physics - the real physics of things that you actually handle - and his interest in literature.' - R. v.d.R. Woolley (1) Kerr Grant was educated at the University of Melbourne and the University of Gottingen, Germany, where he graduated in 1904. On his return to Australia, he became a lecturer at the Ballarat School of Mines. Eventually Grant returned to the University of Melbourne as a tutor, and later worked with B.D. Steele in the Chemistry Department, before taking up the position of Professor in Physics at the University of Adelaide. Kerr Grant was the Vice-Chair of the Optical Munitions Panel, often chairing meetings when T.H. Laby was absent due to ill-health. In March 1944, he became Chair, following Laby's resignation. Kerr Grant headed the research group in the Physics Department at the University of Adelaide. This group undertook the important tasks of reconditioning binoculars and making spirit level bubbles. At the height of production, the laboratories at the University were producing spirit level bubbles at the rate of 10,000 per year! Grant was also responsible for the development of synthetic sapphires: 'It's a terribly complex thing to make accurate bubbles in spirit levels and [Kerr Grant] found it to be so. I think he was the first man outside England and Germany to make synthetic sapphires for the mounting of instruments and I went over to congratulate him. He was working very hard and when I saw his wife in his university room and mentioned the sapphires she said "all I've ever had is synthetics so why should I be surprised".' - Sir Lawrence Hartnett (2) References (1) R. Woolley (1968), 'Mount Stromlo Observatory', RAAS, vol 1, no. 3, November, pp. 53-7. (2) Sir Laurence Hartnett (1985), 'Recollections of the Optical Munitions Panel in Australia', Australian Physicist, vol. 22, May, pp. 158-60; with notes by H.C. Bolton, p. 160. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Engineers: L.J. Hartnett http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/hartnett.htm 1898 - 1986 Laurence John Hartnett, an experienced engineer, was the Manager of General Motors Holden (Australia) when, in May 1940, he was asked by the Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, to become Director of Ordnance Production in the newly formed Department of Munitions. In this role, Harnett was in charge of the 2-pounder anti-tank gun production, and many other munitions required by the armed services. As the 2-pounder anti-tank guns started to roll off the production line, it was discovered that the gunsights expected from Britain would not be arriving. Harnett stated that Australia would simply have to make the gunsights themselves! 'I began to feel a bit less confident when I realised an optical instrument industry just didn't exist in Australia. Apart from spectacles made from imported glass hardly a single optical instrument had ever been made in Australia. The manufacture of optical glass was a highly specialized science, and the techniques involved were little known ... Unless we could pull this one out of the hat, the [anti-tank guns] would be a waste of time ... Sights had to be used for everything but point-blank, open-sight shooting.' (1) This was a desperate situation, and Hartnett's first action was to call on the experts: he asked the Assistant Director-General of Munitions, Keith Brodbribb, for assistance. Brodbribb replied: 'You want physicists? We've got half a dozen of them, roaring around, dying to do something to help, but no one's been able to use them.' (2) Hartnett met with the physicists, including T.H. Laby, E.L. Sayce, H.J. Frost, in Melbourne on 26 June 1940. It was at this meeting that the Optical Munitions Panel was established. One month later, Hartnett presided over the first official meeting of the Panel. He continued to have a guiding influence over the Panel's activities and always had a lively and direct interest in each project. Hartnett's autobiography Big Wheels and Little Wheels makes amusing and fascinating reading, and contains further information on Australian wartime production and the development of our own automobile industry. References (1) Sir Laurence Hartnett (1973), Big Wheels and Little Wheels, 2nd edn, Gold Star Publications, Hawthorn, Victoria, p. 129. (2) Sir Laurence Hartnett (1973), Big Wheels and Little Wheels, 2nd edn, Gold Star Publications, Hawthorn, Victoria, p. 130. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: E.J. Hartung http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/hartung.htm 1893 - 1979 'When Hartung opened up his first satisfactory crucible of glass he rang me at home at midnight. Working hours didn't seem to worry anybody.' - Sir Lawrence Hartnett (1) Ernst Johannes Hartung was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne, and was an enthusiastic and dedicated chemist. He was Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Optical Materials, a sub-section of the Optical Munitions Panel in charge of figuring out how to produce optical glass in Australia. His contribution towards the success of the Panel was invaluable. In 1940, T.H. Laby asked Hartung if he could make optical glass; he replied, 'I don't see any reason why not. It is a very big place and we ought to get sufficiently pure sand.' (2) Hartung then travelled to Sydney to hold initial discussions with the technical staff of Australian Consolidated Industries (ACI). In his first report to the Panel (September 1940). Hartung wrote : 'I visited Sydney from August 26th - 28th last ... I was very much impressed by the keenness and enthusiasm of staff and operatives alike, coupled also with a lively appreciation of the difficulties of the problem ... I am glad to be able to state that as the result of our discussions, and a careful analysis of available data, preliminary work is now in full swing at the glass works in Sydney, and also in the Chemistry Department of the University of Melbourne. Close co-operation on the problem will take place in the future between these institutions.' (3) This indeed was the case. Hartung and ACI worked in conjunction to produce the first optical glass in Australia, and Hartung presented the Panel with the first-ever sample of Australian-made optical glass in December 1940. On 21 September 1941, ACI 'produced the first large-scale batch of optical glass ever made in Australia'. (4) - a truly remarkable achievement! Hartung also built a small experimental, gas-fired furnace in his laboratory at the University of Melbourne. He used this to undertake valuable optical glass experiments, including the testing of different refractory clays and raw materials. Another of Hartung's interests was astronomy. After the war, he established an observatory at his home in Mount Macedon, Victoria. He also wrote a book on the southern skies for observers. Hartung retired in 1953. After his death in 1979, his 12 inch telescope and observation hut were relocated to the roof of the Physics Department at Monash University. References (1) Sir Laurence Hartnett (1985), 'Recollections of the Optical Munitions Panel in Australia', Australian Physicist, vol. 22, May, pp. 158-60; with notes by H.C. Bolton, p. 159. (2) E.J. Hartung (1940), Tape Recording of Reminiscences, University of Melbourne Archives. (3) J.S. Rogers, The History of the Optical Munitions Panel: July 1940 - December 1946, Australian Archives, Brighton, Melbourne, MP 730/11, Box 3, p. 47. (4) D.P. Mellor (1958), 'Optical Munitions', Australia in the War of 1939-1945: The Role of Science and Industry, ch. 12, series 4: civil, vol. 5, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, p. 257. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: E.O Hercus http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/hercus.htm 1891 - 1962 Eric Oswald Hercus was educated in New Zealand, and at Cambridge in the UK. In 1919, he became a Lecturer in Natural Philosophy (i.e. Physics) at the University of Melbourne. Hercus was involved in the Optical Munitions Panel right from the start, and he became the leader of the optical systems design team. Hercus wrote 'Elements of Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics', published in 1951. He retired as an Associate Professor in 1956, but continued to hold a position at CSIRAC (in the University of Melbourne Department of Physics) until his death in 1962. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: A.J. Higgs http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/higgs.htm 1904 - Arthur John Higgs was one of the four original staff physicists at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO) when it was first established in 1924 under the directorship of W.G. Duffield. (W.B. Rimmer, A.R. Hogg and C.W. Allen were the other three physicists.) Higgs was an ionospheric physicist and studied radio propagation and the properties of the ionospheric layers. Higgs travelled to South Africa with Allen in June 1940 to observe a total solar eclipse. Both he and Allen were restless while waiting for the eclipse to happen; the Second World War was getting into full swing and they hoped that there would be war work for them when they returned to Australia. Higgs wrote to R. v.d.R. Woolley: 'When I come back I shall be champing at the bit to jump into something useful as soon as possible.' (1) He was relieved to hear back from Woolley, who informed him that the CSO would be 'going into questions of the design of optical instruments for war purposes'. (2) On his return to Australia in November 1940, Higgs moved to the CSIR/O Department of Radiophysics, and continued to work there for the remainder of his working life. References (1) A.J. Higgs to R. v.d.R. Woolley, 28 July 1940, Australian Archives, A 9103, Item 4 (2) R. v.d.R. Woolley to A.J. Higgs, 17 July 1940, Australian Archives, A 9103, Item 4. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: A.R. Hogg http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/hogg.htm 1903 - 1966 Arthur Robert Hogg was born in Victoria in 1903. He studied at the University of Melbourne, and graduated with a Master of Science (Industrial Chemistry) in 1925. Hogg then started work at the Broken Hill Associated Smelters in Port Pirie, South Australia, and soon became Assistant Superintendent of Research. Hogg joined the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO) in 1929 and was one of the four original staff physicists under the directorship of W.G. Duffield. (W.B. Rimmer, C.W. Allen and A.J. Higgs were the other three physicists.) At the CSO, he undertook research into atmospheric electricity and cosmic rays, designing and building much of his own equipment. Because of Hogg's expertise in measuring and counting atmospheric dusts, he was transferred to the Chemical Defence Section of the Munitions Supply Laboratories during the war, where he studied the effectiveness of respirators. In 1944, the Department was reorganised, and Hogg was made secretary to the Physical and Meteorological Sub-Committee, which also included R. v.d.R. Woolley. In 1946, Hogg returned to the CSO, where the work undertaken had shifted from solar and geophysical work to stellar astronomy. At the age of 43, and as an expert in two different fields, Hogg became an astronomer. Hogg was a quiet, well-liked man, who was prepared to work slowly and carefully. Woolley said of him: 'Hogg is a better physicist than he gives himself credit for.' (1) Hogg remained at the CSO (which later changed name to Mount Stromlo Observatory) for the rest of his professional life. He worked on photoelectric photometry; helped establish the 74 inch telescope and related laboratory facilities; supervised extensive site testing around Australia for an observing station; and helped to choose the Sidings Spring site. Hogg also worked on the magellanic clouds and galactic clusters. References (1) S.C.B. Gascoigne (1968), 'Arthur Robert Hogg', RAAS, vol. 1, no. 3, November, p. 68. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Internees http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/internees.htm In 1940, the Dunera arrived from Britain, carrying German-Jewish refugees. These people had fled the Nazis only to find themselves imprisoned as 'enemy aliens' in England, and now again in Australia. Fortunately for Australia, among the 'Dunera Boys' were several workers who were trained in optics. R. v.d.R. Woolley, Director of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO) learnt of their skills and wrote to the Government seeking their release to assist in the work of the Optical Munitions Panel. Woolley argued that these men would 'more than double the number of experienced men in Australia for this particular class of work'. (1) The British authorities objected to his request, but Woolley persevered, insisting that 'the optical munitions industry in Australia has been set an extremely difficult problem, and that the number of persons qualified to assist is extremely limited'. (2) Finally, in May 1941, the matter was resolved by the Australian War Cabinet, and the internees were released into Woolley's supervision. They were not allowed to leave the Australian Capital Territory (where the CSO is located); however, living at the CSO on Mount Stromlo in a friendly environment, while doing useful, if not stimulating, work must have been a huge improvement over life in a prisoner-of-war camp. Georg Froelich (born 1917 in Vienna, Austria) and Hans Meyer (born 19 April 1920 in Berlin, Germany) began work at the CSO on 1 July 1941. In total, six internees were released to work in the optical and mechanical workshops on Mount Stromlo. References (1) R. v.d.R. Woolley to Secretary, Department of Interior, 5 December 1940, Australian Archives, A 659, 40/1/8641. (2) R. v.d.R. Woolley to Secretary, Department of Interior, 17 January 1941, Australian Archives, A 659, 40/1/8641. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: T.H. Laby http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/laby.htm 1880 - 1946 'Laby was a very strong character and a very patriotic man; he burned with a great zeal to help Australia, while pushing the affairs of Melbourne University and the Department of Physics thereof, not, I should hasten to add, unfairly. He was, to say the least of it, not the soul of tact, but the Panel was, I suppose, completely successful in accomplishing all that it had been set to do, including some supposedly impossible tasks. To these successes Laby's drive contributed materially. He was very good company, if he unbent, as he sometimes did, at dinner after a hard day's work. More than once he took umbrage and resigned his Chairmanship: and in the end his resignation was accepted.' - R. v.d.R. Woolley (1) Thomas Howell Laby had been a student of E. Rutherford at Cambridge University, and a great admirer of the 'classical' Cambridge tradition of research. His focus was on precision experimental physics (in the fields of thermal conductivity and X-rays) but he would tolerate other branches if they offered contributions to his field. 'Making an optical instrument is a classical problem and its use is at the heart of many classical scientific experiments. The problems of making and using optical instruments were exactly what Laby's fertile classical imagination could handle so well. Added to this was an ability to be a good if dominant administrator.' - H.C. Bolton (2) In 1939, Laby was the President of the Australian Branch of the Institute of Physics and had been pushing hard for the Government to utilise the skills of Australian physicists in the war effort. In July 1939, Laby wrote to A.D. Ross: 'I am persuaded that the position of Australia is very much less secure than we suppose and that the physicists will seriously fail in their responsibilities if they do not consider very thoroughly the scientific advice the Government is receiving.' (3) In August 1939, just one month after this correspondence, Laby wrote to the Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, with the suggestion that a consultative committee of Australian physicists should be established to advise the Government on war-related scientific matters. The Government's reply was that 'foreseen requirements were at present well provided for', but that if the unexpected occurred, 'lines on which immediate action could be taken' had been established. Impatiently, Laby waited for the call to action. J. Dooley, then one of Laby's students, 'remembers a whole lecture given over to a tirade about the government's lack of foresight'. (4) Finally, in June 1940, Laby's vision of Australian physicists being involved in the war effort began to take form. At a meeting of interested Australian physicists in Melbourne on 26 June, the Optical Munitions Panel was formed and L.J. Hartnett asked Laby to be the Chair. Laby was the driving force behind the Panel and ran things from his laboratory at the University of Melbourne. He introduced new ideas and methods to the Panel physicists and directed that all research in the Natural Philosophy Department focus on optical munitions. 'He himself worked very enthusiastically and for very long hours at various problems, and in this he was ably assisted by his staff. A big research and investigational staff was built up by using young graduates.' (5) Laby's health began to deteriorate during the years of the Second World War, and K. Grant would chair any meetings that Laby was too ill to attend. In 1942, Laby resigned as Chair of the Natural Philosophy Department at the University of Melbourne. In March 1944, the Panel could not agree with Laby's attitude towards some of the research being undertaken on the tropic proofing of optical instruments. Panel members told the Director of Ordnance Production (Harnett) that they could no longer work with Laby. For one meeting only, the Panel was renamed the 'Advisory Committee on Scientific and Optical Instruments', and during this time Laby resigned as Chair. After Laby's resignation (primarily due to ill-health rather than the problems just mentioned), the Panel resumed its original name and continued under the leadership of Grant, who had been the Deputy Chair. At its final meeting in November 1945, Grant said: 'Australia was highly indebted to [Laby] for the zeal with which he had devoted himself to the work of the Panel in its early years. Dr Laby had never spared himself and it was his overwork which has led to his breakdown in health which had necessitated his resignation.' (6) Laby remained involved in the work of the Optical Munitions Panel until it was disbanded at the end of the war (either in his original capacity of Chair or, after his resignation of this position due to ill-health in 1944, as a Member.) He died in 1946. Laby brought the Australian physicists together and established the successful national wartime research effort coordinated by the Optical Munitions Panel. He could grasp problems quickly, and just as quickly offer solutions. Despite his often difficult personality, he was the driving force behind the Panel and it could not have succeeded without him. References (1) R. Woolley (1968), 'Mount Stromlo Observatory', RAAS, vol 1, no. 3, November, pp. 53-7. (2) H.C. Bolton (1990), 'Optical Instruments in Australia in the 1939-45 War: successes and lost opportunities', Australian Physicist, vol. 27, no. 3, March, pp. 32. (3) T.H. Laby, letter to Professor Ross, 25 October 1923, Basser Library Manuscript Collection, MS 86/1/1. (4) Tim Sherratt, Interview with J. Dooley, 2 July 1994. (5) J.S. Rogers, The History of the Optical Munitions Panel: July 1940 - December 1946, Australian Archives, Brighton, Melbourne, MP 730/11, Box 3, p. 38. (6) H.C. Bolton (1990), 'Optical Instruments in Australia in the 1939-45 War: successes and lost opportunities', Australian Physicist, vol. 27, no. 3, March, pp. 37. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: P.G. Law http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/law.htm 1912 - Phillip Garth Law studied Physics at the University of Melbourne. His involvement in the work of the Optical Munitions Panel included research into metrology (measurement); development of a spherometer to measure lens curvatures; the analysis of captured optical instruments; and tropic proofing. Law was the Assistant Secretary, and later Acting Secretary, to the Optical Munitions Panel. Law was also a Lecturer in Physics at the University of Melbourne 1943-48. After the war, he led the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) and became further involved in Antarctic research and conservation issues. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Technicians: F. Lord http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/lord.htm 1916 - Francis Lord was born on 16 September 1916. He studied optics in Paris and had experience in an optical factory in his home land, Czechoslovakia. The Nazis had allowed Lord to travel to Rumania to fill an existing optics order, but Lord fled to Britain and then Australia. Initially, he worked at the British Optical Company in Sydney, but the company was forced to let him go when fellow workers persisted in treating him with suspicion (due to his nationality, which tagged him as an 'enemy alien'). When R. v.d.R. Woolley, Director of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO), learnt of Lord's optics experience, he sent for him to come to the CSO immediately to assist in the work of the Optical Munitions Panel. Due to Lord's classification as an 'enemy alien', he had to be chaperoned to the Australian Capital Territory (where the CSO is located), by Champion, the manager of the British Optical Company. Lord's experience was extremely valuable. His practical knowledge on how to design and set up an optical workshop was used to reorganise the CSO. With S.J. Elwin, he established a sophisticated workshop and undertook experiments on the production of optical surfaces, making a wide range of lenses and prisms. Within a year of Lord's arrival at the the CSO, they were producing lenses, prisms and trained optical workers. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: A.L. McAulay http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/mcaulay.htm 1895 - 1969 'McAulay could throw off ideas but he wouldn't have a clue how to put things together. He wasn't a workshop man. But he would look through and see what's needed and throw off the idea and it was up to somebody else to put it into steel and power. So it was a very interesting group.' - F.D. Cruickshank (1) Alexander Leicester McAulay was born and educated in Tasmania. He obtained his PhD at Cambridge University, studying under E. Rutherford. McAulay then became Head of the Physics Department at the University of Tasmania and was the leader of the optical munitions team there, which included F.D. Cruickshank, the Waterworth brothers, and many women technicians and physics students. McAulay's work for the Optical Munitions Panel included the design of optical flats, spherical test plates for dial sights, the design and development of grinding tools, pitch polishing tools, and polishing materials. One of the first tasks assigned to him and his team in Hobart (in 1941) was the notoriously difficult roof lens. Geoff Fenton, a physics student at the University of Tasmania during this time, tells the story: 'Professor McAulay decided that he would have a go to see if he could make a prism himself. He made the first roof prism all by hand. A few months later there was a meeting of the Optical Munitions Panel. The story goes that at the panel the other members were sitting around wondering how they could get industry set up to make these [roof] prisms that were required, because of all the difficulties they could see, with not only getting glass but also with the testing and checking of accuracy and that sort of thing. Professor McAulay pulled this one out of his pocket and said: 'Would this do?' That was Professor McAulay's attitude: to first of all have a go himself, to see what the problems were, instead of sitting around on a committee wondering who you could employ to make a prism or a lens. We were very quickly then given the go-ahead to employ people and start up this small industry at the university.' (2) McAulay assisted in the establishment of the Waterworth Hobart Annexe and developed new ways of designing and making a range of lenses, including reconnaissance camera lenses for the RAAF. These camera lenses, in particular, were another triumph for McAulay. The Optical Munitions Panel had assigned the task of designing these lenses to T.H. Laby's laboratories at the University of Melbourne, thus the Panel's team in Hobart were not supposed to work on camera lenses. McAulay returned to Hobart from this Panel meeting and said: 'Laby's going to develop camera lenses in Melbourne and we are not to do anything about them. But I don't think Laby will do it. My hunch is that somebody will scream one day for camera lenses for the RAAF. Therefore, we're going to start immediately and look into the problem.' (3) McAulay asked Cruickshank to research the camera lens problem, and soon after he had successfully produced a camera lens, the next Panel meeting was held. News had come through that a ship carrying 400 camera lenses for the RAAF had been sunk - the lenses had to be supplied somehow. McAulay was correct in his assumption that no research would have been undertaken in this area, and the Panel were uncertain how they could go about supplying the lenses. But at that meeting: 'McAulay pulled [the lens] out of his pocket and said 'Well, we've made one, gentlemen.' It was one of his wins. And therefore the job came to us to get on to camera lenses for the Air Force.' (4) References (1) Interview by Jill Cassidy with Cruickshank in Jill Cassidy (1990), Eric Waterworth: an inventive Tasmanian, Exhibition Catalogue, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, p. 12. (2) Interview by Jill Cassidy with Fenton in Jill Cassidy (1990), ibid., p. 8. (3) Interview by Jill Cassidy with Cruickshank in Jill Cassidy (1990), ibid., p. 13. (4) Interview by Jill Cassidy with Cruickshank in Jill Cassidy (1990), ibid., p. 13. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: J.J. McNeill http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/mcneill.htm 1916 - 1980 John James McNeill studied physics at the University of Melbourne, winning the Dixon Scholarship in 1936 as the top student in his graduating class. T.H. Laby was Head of the Department at this time, and was one of McNeill's supervisors. In 1938, McNeill joined the Munitions Supply Laboratories (MSL) at Maribyrnong. He became increasingly interested in optics and in August 1939 sailed for England under the auspices of the MSL to study a two-year course in technical optics and optical design at the Imperial College in London. The Second World War broke out while the ship was on its way to London, and the ship and McNeill were initially stranded in South Africa. Fortunately, the relative calm of the first year of the war allowed McNeill to restart his journey, this time by QANTAS flying boat. He reached London in February 1940. Life in London during the war was not easy; McNeill was trying to continue his work and studies among some of the heaviest bombing raids on London. He wrote: 'You will appreciate the difficulty of performing an optical computation when the air is vibrant with the roar and rumble of the AA barrage.' (1) While in London, McNeill also gained a great deal of hands-on experience, including visiting optical instrument firms (such as Adam Hilger Ltd); he sent regular reports back to the MSL. In June 1940, a letter from McNeill's superior at MSL, E.L. Sayce, informed him of the establishment of the Optical Munitions Panel. McNeill's reports on optical glass and techniques were circulated to the Panel members, and were invaluable to the physicists and technicians struggling with their new and urgent work. When McNeill returned to Australia in early 1942, he was was one of the most experienced men in optics. He quickly became a colleague and friend to another MSL scientist, G.G. Schaefer. The two shared a flat, worked late at the labs three nights a week, and played squash together. Their friendship was life long; they were even known as the 'Optical Twins' as their scientific skills complemented each other so well. 'McNeill's delight in optics allowed him to face all the tasks with tremendous enthusiasm, energy and drive. Without these, the joint solutions of McNeill and Schaefer would never have been produced in time. Eventually, all the activities of the optical glass shop, optical instrument shop and optics laboratory were put under McNeill, with links to the design office and mechanical workshop.' - H.C. Bolton (2) McNeill was a vital link between the MSL physicists and the optical technicians, and he had a great effect on the smooth running and success of the MSL. McNeill transferred to the CSIRO Division of Chemical Physics in 1955, and remained there until his retirement in 1978. His ability to communicate between techical and scientific staff earned him a strong commitment from T.C. Alldis, an MSL optical technician, who even followed McNeill to the CSIRO. After the war McNeill worked with Schaefer to develop a microscope - an MSL project. He served for many years on the Technical Advisory Committee on Optical Munitions (chaired by N.A. Esserman), which tried to restart the optical industry in Australia. However, when the focus of the Committee moved to acoustics, he lost his enthusiasm. McNeill was a generous man with wide ranging interests; he was also a devout churchgoer. In 1943, McNeill married Joan Felicity Hogan, a stenographer in the Physics Section of the MSL. Between 1944 and 1953 they had four children. McNeill was enthusiastic about athletics and was a field judge at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. He also enjoyed family life, fishing, growing camellias and classical music, especially Beethoven. References (1) D.P. Mellor (1958), 'Optical Munitions', Australia in the War of 1939-1945: The Role of Science and Industry, ch. 12, series 4: civil, vol. 5, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, p. 8. (2) H.C. Bolton (1983), 'J.J. McNeill and the Development of Optical Research in Australia', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 5, no. 4, p. 59. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Sir R.G. Menzies http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/menzies.htm 1894 - 1978 First Period in Australian Parliament, 1939-41 Second Period in Australian Parliament, 1949-66 Robert Gordon Menzies, the son of a country shopkeeper, was born in Jeparit, Victoria. He studied law at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1916. Menzies was known as a brilliant advocate, and entered Victorian Parliament in 1929, serving as Attorney-General, Minister for Railways, and Deputy Premier. In 1934 he won the federal seat of Kooyong, and became Attorney-General in the Federal Government, headed by Prime Minister Lyons. In 1939, Lyons died of a heart attack, and Menzies was elected leader of the United Australia Party (UAP). Thus he became Prime Minister of Australia for the first time. This period as Prime Minister was particularly stressful due to the outbreak of the Second World War and personal rivalries within the UAP. Menzies was forced to resign in mid-1941 when opposition to his leadership became too strong. Shortly afterwards, the UAP lost government. Now in Opposition, Menzies created a new political party - the Liberal Party - and succeeded in winning a federal election in 1949. He now commenced his second period as Prime Minister of Australia, which lasted sixteen years. This period of leadership was characterised by economic prosperity and a divided Opposition. Menzies had no rivals within his party and was apparently above criticism. The Vietnam War marked Menzies' final years in Parliament; he resigned in 1966. He is remembered as the founding father of the Liberal Party in Australia. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: J.S. Rogers http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/rogers.htm 1893 - 1977 James Stanley Rogers was born in Tasmania, and studied at the University of Melbourne. He was a Senior Lecturer in Physics at the University when the Second World War began, and it was through his connection with T.H. Laby that he became the Secretary of the Optical Munitions Panel. In this capacity, Rogers took the minutes of every Panel meeting: 'Dr Rogers' minutes I think should be historically preserved because they were beautifully and promptly done. Within a day or two of every meeting there were Rogers' minutes.' - Sir Lawrence Hartnett (1) Rogers was an active participant in the work of the Panel and, in 1941, he suggested to A.L. McAulay, a Panel member and Head of the Physics Department at the University of Tasmania, that he might like to try to make roof prisms. This suggestion marked the start of a successful optics project in Hobart, involving a combination of science and industry (see Waterworth). In his capacity as a Panel member and physicist, Rogers also visited the USA in 1943, where he saw first-hand the large-scale production of optical glass and instrument components. At the final meeting of the Panel in November 1945, it was agreed that Rogers would write a history of the Panel and arrange for its printing through the Directorate of Ordnance Production. This he did, and many historians are indebted to him for his accurate and thorough record-keeping. (See J.S. Rogers, The History of the Optical Munitions Panel: July 1940 - December 1946, Australian Archives, Brighton, Melbourne, MP 730/11, Box 3.) After the war, Rogers continued to work at the University of Melbourne as Warden of its Mildura Branch, then as Dean of Graduate Studies, 1950-1963. Rogers was made an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics in 1964. References (1) Sir Laurence Hartnett (1985), 'Recollections of the Optical Munitions Panel in Australia', Australian Physicist, vol. 22, May, pp. 158-60; with notes by H.C. Bolton, p. 159. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: A.D. Ross http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/ross.htm 1883 - 1966 Alexander David Ross was Professor of Physics at the University of Western Australia, and was the driving force behind the establishment of the Australian Branch of the [British] Institute of Physics in 1924. He was also its Honorary Secretary for many years. In 1939, along with T.H. Laby, Ross was instrumental in lobbying the Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, on behalf of the Australian physicists, to get the Government to utilise the skills of Australian physicists in the war effort. Ross was also at the first meeting between Government officals and physicists in 1939, at which, the Government replied that their help was not needed ... yet. Although Ross was involved with optical munitions work from the very beginning, due to the large distances involved in travel between Perth and Melbourne, he was rarely able to attend Optical Munitions Panel meetings. Ross was initally a 'corresponding member' of the Panel; he was made a full Member in 1944. Initially, there was little opportunity for optical munitions production in Western Australia, so Ross directed the Physics Department to manufacture lens test plates, which were then shipped to lens manufacturers in the eastern states of Australia. Binocular reconditioning and tropic proofing was also carried out by his Department, and advice was also given to local Perth firms who were contracted to make parts for the optical munitions. Later in the war, flash spotters, directors, angle of sight instruments, jungle sights and microscopes were produced in Western Australia and assembled in Ross' laboratory. Ross was also instrumental in arranging for his Department to repair and calibrate the optical instruments from any ships in port at Fremantle - including the instruments from Australian, American, British and Dutch ships. After the war, amongst other things, Ross founded the Pan-Indian Ocean Science Congress comprising fourteen countries. He also established a strong reputation for research in vacuum spectroscopy and optical astronomy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: E.L. Sayce http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/sayce.htm 1899 - 1984 Eric Loxton Sayce was the Senior Physicist at the Munitions Supply Laboratories. He attended the first meeting of physicists, along with T.H. Laby and L.J. Hartnett, in Melbourne on 26 June 1940. It was at this meeting that the Optical Munitions Panel was established. Sayce regularly corresponded with J.J. McNeill (while McNeill was studying in England), and shortly after the establishment of the Panel, he wrote that 'with the introduction of Professor Laby, all sorts of new ideas and methods are being tried'. (1) From McNeill's regular reports to the MSL, Sayce was able to pass on valuable information to the Panel. Sayce also kept McNeill informed on developments in Australia; in a letter to McNeill in August 1941, Sayce said: 'When you left Australia, very few people had had even the slightest experience in optical design or production of optical components. The position is considerably different now in that there has been quite a lot of development in optical designing and production of lenses and prisms. We are still, however, in our infancy, and whilst we have picked up the simple phases out here, by trial and error, we will still be relying on you for very material help on the advanced and more complicated phases.' (2) Sayce was an active member of the Optical Munitions Panel and was involved in its work from the beginning until its disbandment at the end of the war. References (1) Letter from E.L. Sayce to J.J. McNeill, 11 September 1940, p 2 (located in the McNeill Archive, University of Melbourne Archives). (2) Letter from E.L. Sayce to J.J. McNeill, 26 August 1941, p. 2 (located in the McNeill Archive, University of Melbourne Archives). _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: G.G. Schaefer http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/schaefer.htm 1915 - Gus Schaefer, the son of a Queensland sugar worker, was in his late-20s when he began work at the Munitions Supply Laboratories (MSL) in January 1941. Schaefer was a specialist in mathematics and analytical training and had been a teacher for some years. He rapidly learnt the fundamentals of optical design and ray tracing analysis. Schaefer's first task at the MSL was to analyse eight tons of optical glass from an American firm (reserve stock). Schaefer used the book, 'The Manufacture of Optical Glass and Optical Instruments' by F.E. Wright (1921) to learn how the USA had developed their optical munitions industry in the First World War. Interestingly enough, this book was also used as a reference resource by Australian Consolidated Industries and E.J. Hartung when they began to experiment with the production of optical glass. When J.J. McNeill returned to the MSL in early 1942, Schaefer found a friend and workmate. The two shared a flat, worked late at the labs three nights a week, and played squash together. Their friendship was life long; they were even known as the 'Optical Twins' as their scientific skills complemented each other so well. McNeill had practical knowledge and formal training in technical optics and would intuitively solve problems as they arose; while Schaefer worked to understand the mathematical principles underlying the solution. Schaefer's research for the Optical Munitions Panel included many years working on the one-metre infantry range-finder, an extremely complicated and difficult piece of optics which has various aberrations, including astigmatism. In a masterful piece of scientific detection work, the problem was eventually tracked down to the air gap between the two prisms. Schaefer left the MSL in January 1951 to found the first Defence Operational Research Group, located in the Head Office of the Department of Supply in Melbourne. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: W.H. Steel http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/steel.htm 1920 - W.A. Steel was educated in Mathematics and Physics at the University of Melbourne. During the war, he began to work with the Australasian Wireless Association (AWA), then transferred to the CSIR/O National Standards Laboratory. Steel undertook research on signalling lamps, sighting telescopes, testing telescopes and projectors, optical design, interferometric tests on glass and refractive index measurements. After the war, Steel was one of the few scientists who remained in the field of optics. He continued to work at the CSIR/O and became an international expert in interferometry. He retired in 1985. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: D.W.N. Stibbs http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/stibbs.htm 1919 - Douglas Walter Noble (Walter) Stibbs was a research assistant at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO) when the Second World War began. He took part in some of the earliest optical munitions work undertaken at the CSO. He designed a folded optical system for a gunsight, which went into production later in the war. When Stibbs showed his designs and the complicated equations to R. v.d.R. Woolley, he recalls that Woolley 'took me to task for pronouncing aluminium as "aluminum" and took for granted the correctness of the mathematics and the numerical work that I had done!' (1) In late 1941, Stibbs designed a Sun Compass which was used in desert warfare. Once this work was completed, he moved to the New England University College (now the University of New England) in Armidale, New South Wales, to 'take up a University Lectureship which involved teaching mathematics and theoretical physics on topics related to the war effort'. (2) In July 1945 Stibbs returned to the CSO (now known as Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories), where he did photo-electric photometry, worked on theoretical astrophysics and wrote a book The Outer Layers of a Star, co-authored with Woolley and published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford. Stibbs obtained his D.Phil. at Oxford University in 1954, and was the Napier Professor of Astronomy at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, for thirty years (1959-1989). In 1990, he was appointed Emeritus Professor. Stibbs and his wife, Margaret, returned to Canberra in 1990. He became a Visiting Fellow at Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories and is closely associated with the Astrophysical Theory Centre in the School of Mathematical Sciences at the Australian National University. References (1) D.W.N. Stibbs, private correspondence with D. Sutherland, March 1997. (2) D.W.N. Stibbs, private correspondence with D. Sutherland, March 1997. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Physics Students http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/students.htm 'It is not too far-fetched to say that many young graduate physicists were introduced to their professional career through the recommendations of the [OMP] and many high quality technicians were trained on the high-precision optical work. In many ways the work of the [OMP] during the War looked like a very flourishing graduate school.' - H.C. Bolton (1) Many Australian university students who were studying science (in particular, mathematics and physics) at the start of the Second World War became involved in the work of the Optical Munitions Panel. Their experiences with the Panel and optical munitions research influenced their studies, lives and, in many cases, directed their future careers. 'I was a student at the university and I was already interested in Physics as a major subject. When the optical work began under Professor McAulay, we were told that we didn't need to do any laboratory experimental work in the ordinary sense, if we would pitch in and do experimental work on optical techniques. We were just experimenting with prisms, with optical glass, and we took to that.' - Geoff Fenton (2) Some of the students and young graduates who worked for the Optical Munitions Panel include: University of Melbourne * R.L. Abbey * J.W. Blamey * Ada Phyllis Booth * E.H.S. Burton * John Francis Darby * J.S. Dryden * V.D. Hopper * E.R. Johnson * W.G. Kannuluik * Eudora Betty Laby * David J. Medley * H.D. Rathgeber * J.F. Richardson * J.B. Willis University of Tasmania * Geoff Fenton * Vic Fitze * Harry Lewis * Wilf Robinson * Gavin Hills University of Western Australia * Colin A. Ramm Commonwealth Solar Observatory * Jim Dooley * University of Sydney * Sydney E. Williams References (1) H.C. Bolton (1983), 'J.J. McNeill and the Development of Optical Research in Australia', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 5, no. 4, p. 58. (2) Interview by Jill Cassidy with Geoff Fenton, in Jill Cassidy (1990), Eric Waterworth: an inventive Tasmanian, Exhibition Catalogue, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, 1990, p. 9. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: O.U. Vonwiller http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/vonwiller.htm 1882 - 1972 Oscar Ulrich Vonwiller was Professor and Head of the Physics Department at the University of Sydney. He was an original Optical Munitions Panel member, and went to practically all of the Panel meetings. Vonwiller was also a member of the Board of Visitors at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory. 'Oscar Vonwiller ... had always taken an active interest in Mount Stromlo and had defended it in the lean years when Government money was hard to get for science ... Oscar fostered Mount Stromlo, and of course Sydney Observatory as well. He also taught his men very thoroughly, as of course did Laby ... Like Kerr Grant, Vonwiller was a man of great breadth of interest.' - R. v.d.R. Woolley (1) Under Vonwiller's direction, the Physics Department at the University of Sydney undertook the reconditioning and tropic proofing of approximately 10,000 binoculars (of differing types); the manufacture of various optical instruments; investigation and development of blooming techniques for glass; and investigation of desiccating agents, such as silica gel and alumina, which absorb water and could be used to fight mould problems experienced by Australian defence forces in the tropics. References (1) R. Woolley (1968), 'Mount Stromlo Observatory', RAAS, vol 1, no. 3, November, pp. 54. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Technicians: Women http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/women.htm Many women undertook optical munitions work coordinated through the Optical Munitions Panel. As Australian men rushed to enlist in the armed services, laboratories and factories became desperate for workers, and women were only too glad to help out. The women workers came from many walks of life: teenagers just out of school, laboratory assistants, secretaries, politician and land-owners' daughters - even T.H. Laby's daughter, Eudora, became involved in the work of the Panel. The women carried out a variety of tasks. Many were 'calculators', in a way this was similar to being a human computer. Calculators did all the mathematical calculations involved with lens design by hand, with just desk calculators to help them! The Commonwealth Solar Observatory had a room full of women calculators; located near the present-day Library, it was known as the Hen House! All the universities and government laboratories involved in optical munitions work also employed women workers for the duration of the war. Many women became technical assistants, carrying out tasks such as: * grinding lenses; * assisting in optical design; * undertaking measurements of refractive indices, prism angles and focal lengths; * doing calculations of lens designs using optical ray tracing; * aluminising mirrors; * testing optical components; and * tropic proofing binoculars. It is interesting to note that the equal pay for equal work case of the female optical workers was the first to be heard by the Women's Employment Board in Canberra. F. Lord, who worked closely with the women, felt that the work of men and women was 'interchangeable'. Although, at the hearing, R. v.d.R. Woolley explained that while the women did the same work as their male counterparts at the CSO, he felt that 'in all cases the best males were superior to the best females'! (1) Nevertheless, the women were granted a major pay rise. In Tasmania, women were involved in optical munitions work at the Waterworth Hobart Annexe. 'I think McAulay first of all brought in one or two of the secretaries from the university itself. Every woman in sight was only too happy to jump in and do work of that sort ... All the friends of McAulay and me and Cruickshank, women friends, others, were all brought in straight away. That provided the nucleus within a matter of the first few weeks. Then they began to take on greater numbers from the general public. All the Physics lecture rooms and laboratories had polishing spindles in them.' - Eric Waterworth (2) Women contributed much to the wartime industries and filled an important role in supporting the war effort, while their husbands and sons were away fighting on the various war fronts. Many women remember it with great satisfaction; a time of friendships, responsibility, hard work and freedom. Val Pearce, from Hobart, was one of the many who went straight from school to work in optical munitions: 'While I was still at school and [in] my first years at Matric, Professor McAulay came down to the school at Fahan to recruit. I didn't know what I wanted to do after I left school, so I finished school. No school holidays. I went straight in, even before Christmas ... I went straight there along with a couple of other girls from school. There were only five or six there when we went. We were just in one small room in the university down by the Domain ... I can remember the noise, the singing and the chatter that always went on. We always had the wireless blaring with all the pop songs at the time, and it was a very happy atmosphere. We really did have a lot of fun.' (3) References (1) Canberra Times, 28 November 1944, p. 3. (2) Interview with Eric Waterworth, in Jill Cassidy (1990), Eric Waterworth: an inventive Tasmanian, Exhibition Catalogue, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, p. 9. (3) Interview with Val Pearce, in Jill Cassidy (1990), Eric Waterworth: an inventive Tasmanian, Exhibition Catalogue, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, pp. 9 and 14. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Optical Munitions Exhibition - Scientists: R. v.d.R. Woolley http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/woolley.htm 1906 - 1986 Richard van der Reit Woolley was born in 1906, in Dorset, England. He was educated in England and South Africa, then worked at Cambridge University in the UK and Mount Wilson in California, USA. Woolley was appointed Director of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (CSO) in December 1939, aged only thirty-three! The CSO had not had a permanent head for ten years, and his arrival was most welcome. Woolley had plans of changing the emphasis of the CSO from solar and geophysical work to stellar astronomy; however, his plans were delayed by the onset of the Second World War. 'My early years on Mount Stromlo were dominated by the work of the Optical Munitions Panel. I arrived in Australia shortly after the 1939 war broke out, and carried on normal work until the fall of France the next year ... [then] Mount Stromlo stopped doing ordinary scientific work almost entirely, and worked instead for the Panel.' (1) Woolley found many excellent scientists, technicians and people who contributed to the optical munitions work. He was responsible for recruiting S.C. 'Ben' Gascoigne, F. Lord, S.J. Elwin, J. Dooley, K. Gottlieb, many women, and even internees. T.H. Laby had recommended Woolley as one of the first appointees to the Optical Munitions Panel, calling him one of the finest mathematicians in the country. However, Laby and Woolley did not always see eye-to-eye. Prior to the formation of the Panel, Woolley had entertained similar ideas to Laby, that is, of providing scientific services to the Government during war time. Thus, he had his own well-formed plans on how it should work. He believed that the Panel was an awkward group with inadequate power and a lack of distinction between its scientific, advisory and executive functions, and felt it could have been organised more efficiently. Woolley clashed with Laby on a number of occasions, in particular over who was in charge of optical design. At one early Panel meeting, Woolley had been told that the CSO was going to do all optical munitions design work, but then Laby started getting other universities, and especially the University of Melbourne (his own), to do design work as well. These issues were eventually sorted out, and it seems that Woolley and Laby both had tendencies to dramatise some situations in order to get their own way. After April 1942, Woolley's work as Chief Executive Officer of the Army Inventions Directorate (AID) regularly took him away from the CSO. L.J. Hartnett had asked him to take on this role, as he believed Woolley was 'an excellent organiser and a fast worker'. (2) The AID's task was to investigate all ideas for inventions received from the Australian public in an attempt to determine those which would help the war effort. It received 21,645 submissions, 127 of which were actually developed. During this period, Woolley trusted his CSO staff to carry on without him, which they admirably did. Woolley was a sociable man, who encouraged a positive sense of community and teamwork at the CSO. He mixed with staff easily, playing chess with Lord, and taking part in bridge evenings, tennis matches, horse riding and musical performances. It appears that he was well liked as a Director. After the Panel work was finished, Woolley wanted to keep the optical workshops going with a 'small nucleus of skilled instrument makers' to 'keep alive in Australia some of the optical instrument knowledge gained the hard way during the war'. (3) The optical workshops at Mount Stromlo are still among the best in the world. Woolley stayed at Mount Stromlo Observatory (the former CSO) for sixteen years. During this time he helped in the establishment of the Australian National University (ANU), and encouraged the incorporation of the Observatory into the ANU. Woolley and his wife, Gwyneth, were also very involved in the planning and governing of University House at the ANU. In 1955 Woolley took up the post of Astronomer Royal in Britain, somewhat reluctantly leaving all his friends in Australia. The latest Mount Stromlo office building, opened in 1995, was named the Woolley Building in his honour. References (1) R. Woolley (1968), 'Mount Stromlo Observatory', RAAS, vol 1, no. 3, November, p. 53. (2) Sir Laurence Hartnett (1973), Big Wheels and Little Wheels, 2nd edn, Gold Star Publications, Hawthorn, Victoria, p. 166. (3) R. v.d.R. Woolley to Secretary, Department of Interior, 28 May 1943, Australian Archives, A 431, 47/1629. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _